Could Tiger Woods play in the 2017 Northern Trust Open*? Maybe so

Tiger Woods hasn't played at the PGA Tour's Los Angeles stop since 2006. Now, with a new title sponsor coming to what's now called the Northern Trust Open, Woods may come back to play.

The Associated Press reports the Tiger Woods Foundation has had preliminary discussions about becoming the primary beneficiary of the annual event at Riviera Country Club.

Northern Trust is ending its run as sponsor of this event to become the sponsor of the first FedEx Cup playoff event, currently known as The Barclays. Hyundai, which had sponsored the year-starting Tournament of Champions, will become the title sponsor in Los Angeles, where it has its American headquarters. Hyundai and Woods' foundation could team up for the event.

Woods' foundation, headquartered in the L.A. vicinity, is currently the primary beneficiary of the Quicken Loans National, Deutsche Bank Championship and his unofficial Hero World Challenge. The deal would also give Woods' foundation a big pro event in the L.A. area. The Hero-then-Target-or-Chevron World Challenge was played in the L.A. area for a few years but has since moved to other locations and is now played in the Bahamas.

Woods has played in all of those events when healthy. So, it would be safe to expect Woods to play at Riviera again if his foundation is involved and he's healthy. That's a big if considering Woods' two back surgeries in the fall and a general void of information about his recovery and potential return to competition.